Carlota Ciganda is the hometown hero because the Spaniard helped Group Europe safe its third straight Solheim Cup.
For the primary time in 19 cups, it resulted in a 14-14 tie. Since Group Europe received the latest occasion in 2021, they maintain the title. It’s incumbent upon the challengers to win the occasion. Group USA fell a half level wanting doing that.
Ciganda took down Nelly Korda on Sunday within the singles match 2 & 1.
Her level obtained the Europeans to 14 factors first, which was all they wanted to safe the Cup.
She began her day robust, going up by three by way of eight holes. Korda mounted a comeback and squared the match on the again 9.
The match was even because the gamers had been on 16. Group USA solely wanted a half level to win the Solheim Cup.
However Ciganda was just too good when it mattered most.
‘Suzann [Pettersen], she got here to me [on 16]… she simply instructed me you had been made for this,” Ciganda mentioned after her spherical.
“Go get pleasure from and play good in entrance of your nation and simply end it up. I hit two wonderful photographs. Nelly, what am I going to say, she’s a tremendous participant, been world No. 1 quite a few instances… So I’m fairly completely satisfied I may beat her to get the purpose for Europe.”
Ciganda did simply that. After Korda hit her strategy to eight ft above the outlet, Ciganda knocked it stiff to 3 ft. Korda missed the difficult downhill putt, and Ciganda sank hers, placing her 1UP and Group Europe on the precipice of victory.
She wasn’t accomplished.
Ciganda then hit her tee shot on the par-3 seventeenth as soon as once more to 3 ft. After Korda’s tee got here up brief left, the event was primarily over.
The 33-year-old from Pamplona, Spain went 4-0-0 this week. Extremely, she didn’t path in any of her matches.
The native hero obtained it accomplished on her residence soil, with followers singing and chanting in Spanish within the background.
All 12 gamers for Group Europe stepped as much as the problem, nevertheless it was solely becoming that Ciganda ended the event.
Europe now has Solheim Cup bragging rights till subsequent yr when these two groups meet within the States on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership in Gainesville, Virginia. The ladies will play back-to-back years to place the lads’s and ladies’s workforce occasions in reverse years.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. You’ll be able to observe her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for extra golf protection. You’ll want to take a look at @_PlayingThrough too.
